Rob's Top Minigames

Sometimes you get sucked into a game within a game. Very prominent in RPG and open world games, there are mini-games can take you away from your main quests/goals. For me there has certainly been instances where I have played the mini-game more than the actual game itself.

GWENT - The Witcher: Wild Hunt

I still haven't finished The Witcher, but I still will play Gwent for hours. About 90% of the time if I'm playing the game I'm playing some Gwent with some drunkard at a bar. It's also a mini game that has actually became a standalone game and a real card game as well! The Xbox One Collector's edition came with two Gwent decks and each expansion came with 2 decks as well! (Though the Blood & Wine expansion set had the same decks included with the exclusive Xbox One collector's edition.) Hopefully later on they decide to make more physical cards, it'll be like getting back into Magic: The Gathering again.

Tetra Master - Final Fantasy IX

I prefer this over the Final Fantasy VIII card game Triple Triad. Unlike with Triple Triad, you can't turn your cards into items. It's played on a 4x4 grid with blank spaces where cards can obviously fill the voids. Each card has four stats; power, class, physical defense, and magic defense. The main goal is to challenge your opponents adjacent cards. Each card has different arrows on them which show where the card is able to attack. Have more cards on the board and you win!

Blitzball - Final Fantasy X

You either love or hate Blitzball. Once I was able to get the hang of it I fell in love with it. I played it constantly, getting the best of the best and destroying every team. I sometimes wish they made it into a full game. I personally think that'd be neat but then again I can see a ton of people having an issue with that.

Snake vs. Monkey - Metal Gear Solid 3

A game mode you unlock once you finish the main story, Snake vs. Monkey is a game mode where Snake is given the mission of capturing all the Ape Escape apes. You go through 5 different stages (7 if you have the substenence version of the game) and try to capture them all. While some give you trouble its a pretty easy mini-game, but a fun one!

Mercenaries - Resident Evil 4

I dumped so many hours just improving my score with every character. You unlock Mercenaries after beating the game. You're given five characters to choose from and you are put under a time limit to get the highest score possible. You can gather hourglasses that will extend time and there's also more ammo to find. The best way to get points is to try to gather as many enemies in an area as you can and try to get a combo to get a ton of those sweet points.

Geometry Wars - Project Gotham Racing 2

A mini-game that actually became it's own series and became one of the top selling games on XBLA. Geometry Wars is an amazing mini-game and an ever better full game. It was originally playable on Project Gotham Racing 2 on Xbox 360. In order to play it you need to be in the garage and there you can access it! It has spawned 2 sequels as well. Each being better than the last.

Gold Saucer - Final Fantasy 7

Maybe this doesn't count? There's not just one minigame available in the Gold Saucer; there's 10! From Snowboarding, Chocobo Racing, Boxing, Basketball, and obviously much more! It's heaven for minigames and while some of them nowadays are quite dated, they're still a lot of fun to play. They recently brought the Golden Saucer back in Final Fantasy XIV as well.

Break the Targets! - Super Smash Bros.

Not only was it a nice break in between classic mode it was overall a fantastic minigame that used each character's skills and provided a challenge.

Bowling - Grand Theft Auto IV

HEY NICO IT'S YOUR COUSIN ROMAN, WANNA GO BOWLING!?

Motor Kombat - Mortal Kombat Armageddon

A game focused on ripping each other apart takes a step back on the violence in this awesome Mario Kart clone. Each character has special abilities attached to their own kart; which makes each character a ton of fun to try out.